Staci Gillum (West Des Moines, Iowa/Waukee), who has helped Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa to back-to-back junior college National Championships at point guard the last two years, has signed a National Letter of Intent to continue her basketball career at the University of Evansville, women’s basketball head coach Misty Murphy announced today.

Gillum, who will have two years of eligibility remaining at UE beginning this fall, becomes the first player to sign with the Purple Aces during the spring signing period.  She joins fall signees Khristian Hart (Evansville, Ind./Harrison), Katie Ellerson (Muskego, Wis./Muskego), Miranda Liles (Killen, Ala./Brooks) and Hannah Weedman (Knoxville, Ill./Knoxville) as the newest members of the UE women’s basketball program.

“It’s not often that you have the opportunity to sign a junior college point guard who comes in bringing two National Championships with them,” said Murphy.  “Staci is a proven winner both on the court and in the classroom and we are thrilled to have her join our program.”

Gillum was a four-time all-conference and all-district performer, as well as an all-academic team selection, at Waukee High School in her hometown of West Des Moines, Iowa prior to attending Kirkwood Community College.  As a freshman at Kirkwood, Gillum helped the Eagles to the 2009 National Championship by finishing second on the team in steals and dishing out an average of 2.8 assists per game as a reserve point guard.   Her freshman year included a game in which she scored a season-high 24 points, dished out 10 assists, and swiped nine steals against a University of Saint Louis Club Team. 

This past year as a sophomore, Gillum earned third team NJCAA All-America status at point guard while helping Kirkwood to its fourth-consecutive national title, as she led the team in scoring at 10.9 points per game while shooting 43.3 percent from the floor and 37.1 percent from three-point range.  She also led the team with averages of 4.2 assists and 2.0 steals per game, and she scored a team-high 16 points, including hitting a key three-pointer and four-straight free throws to ice Kirkwood’s 72-62 victory over Patrick Henry C.C. in the NJCAA Division II National Championship game.  She also dished out seven assists in the title game.

Overall, in her two years at Kirkwood, Gillum helped the Eagles to a combined 73-2 record.